


King of the world

by laireshi



Category: Avengers (Comics), Marvel 616, New Avengers (Comics), Superior Iron Man - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Extremis, Fix-It, Happy Ending, M/M, Superior Iron Man, fixing superior iron man before it gets published
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-21
Updated: 2014-09-27
Packaged: 2018-02-18 04:31:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2335403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laireshi/pseuds/laireshi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony is on top of the world. It's not a good thing for anyone. The Avengers go to stop him, and while they think the effects are disastrous, Tony might just be grateful.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First of all: this fic is finished already. The rest of it should be posted this week.
> 
> Thanks to [runningondreams](http://archiveofourown.org/users/runningondreams) for beta'ing :) And also to [missbecky](http://archiveofourown.org/users/missbecky/pseuds/missbecky) and [Comicsohwhyohwhy](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Comicsohwhyohwhy/pseuds/Comicsohwhyohwhy) for letting me send them fragments and offering feedback.
> 
> There are spoilerish warnings at the end.

Steve Rogers was torn.

A part of him, the responsible part, the part that kept him going through waking up in another century, through not-quite-dying and coming back, wanted to look for a way to fix himself, a cure, another serum, anything. That part was even ready to consider asking even Reed for advice. Reed, or –

Well, the other person who had experience helping Steve with serum problems …

The rest of Steve was tired. He was old, looked his age, _felt_ his age. The betrayal and the hurt that he could cover with anger when he was young and strong now weighed over him. He wanted to rest. He wanted to keep away from everything. He wanted to be left alone. He didn’t want to go back to it all, only to hurt more and more.

Tony Stark had been his best friend, and now, forced to lie around for most of the day, Steve had a lot of time to think about everything, and he knew this: nothing would force him to ask that man for help.

Not when Tony had spent months smiling at him, laughing at him behind his back, not after he’d wiped Steve’s mind.

The part of Steve that wanted to go back out in the world and help people – even that part had to agree that enough was enough. He wouldn’t let Tony hurt him again.

***

Steve watched the battle in New York on TV.

He saw Red Skull hitting Iron Man with an energy beam straight on, and Iron Man falling to the ground. Steve didn’t know why he was so worried, anxious, ready to run out and check if he was all right. Tony was out of his life, after all. Steve no longer needed to care about him.

The news station cut to a video of Sam taking the Skull down.

The image of Iron Man going down stayed in front of Steve’s eyes.

If it was serious, they’d call him, Steve thought, and leant his head on his hands. He hoped Sam would visit soon.

***

The next time Steve saw Iron Man on TV, he was _different_. The armour was smooth and silver, nothing at all like the models that Steve knew by heart, that he could sketch at any moment – but he wouldn’t. Not anymore.

There were more differences than just the armour though: Tony was fighting Daredevil. And, well, Steve knew which one of them he trusted more (or at all), but this was still strange, this wasn’t Tony’s usual MO; he was more prone to manipulating, not using force, not when he knew how media could spin it –

Steve reached for his tablet, and looked for Iron Man.

Pictures of Tony, surrounding by women and drinking, showed up. Steve’s first instinct was to scroll past them, they must have been old results – except they weren’t, as his eyes caught a caption, “Billionaire Tony Stark on the launch of his new product, Extremis app, in San Francisco.”

Steve didn’t let himself think just yet. He looked at other photos: Tony, his eyes literally _shining_ blue. Tony, a cheesy smile on his face, a building with STARK written on it behind him. Tony, his faceplate off, a weird, silver tiara on his forehead, a drink in his hand.

Tony, but so very clearly not him –

Or wasn’t it? Maybe he’d just finally shown his real face?

Steve should know what that looked like, he thought bitterly.

_I used you. And I’d do it again._

Yeah. Tony just took off one layer of his masks for the world to see, but there wasn’t anything new in him.

Steve closed his search.

***

Painting took more time, and much more patience than usual. Steve’s hand, holding the brush, was shaking. He gave up on trying to go for straight lines. Instead he painted an almost abstract landscape, full of red.

He told himself it wasn’t the incursion field.

They weren’t a threat anymore, but the nightmares stayed, of an Earth colliding with theirs, of Tony blowing a planet up, of the Illuminati standing over him, always.

Steve was grateful to hear a knock at his door. He put his brushes aside and went to open it. Carol stood there, her face set.

He knew what she was going to say then.

His first instinct was to close the door, but he forced himself to calm down. Carol wouldn’t have come if she wasn’t convinced she had no other choice.

“It’s about Tony,” she said like he’d known she would.

He exhaled before he moved to go back inside his flat, gesturing at her to follow.

“You should come with me,” she said, shaking her head, and he froze.

“Why?”

Carol sighed. “He’s – we think it’s what Red Skull did to him,” she said, standing just inside the door.

Steve almost laughed at that. “He doesn’t need Skull to go crazy,” he said. “And if you think otherwise, you’re blind.”

She was very, very still. “If you really believe what you’re saying, it’s not me who’s blind,” she said. “But it doesn’t matter. You have to come with me.”

“Do I?”

He could see her trying to keep calm. Her eyes were furious. “The Avengers are going to stop him. You’re coming with us. We don’t want to fight with him. He’s always been more willing to listen to you.”

Steve couldn’t help it: this time he laughed. “Carol,” he said. “I thought you’d read up on what you forgot. Stark has never listened to anyone, much less me.”

“So you’ll let people die, because you’re what, angry at him?”

He closed his fists tight. She was right. Of course she was.

He didn’t know what _else_ Tony had done, but it was obvious from the way Carol was acting: they had to stop him.

He nodded. He went to his wardrobe to grab a jacket. It was early autumn, but he was old, and he couldn’t keep warm like he did with the serum.

***

Some of the Avengers avoided his eyes. Some of them smiled at him. Most of them looked just worried. Thor wasn’t there. Neither was Sam.

“Okay,” Carol said. “Black Widow, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, come with us.”

Steve waited for someone to protest, but no one did. She was a good leader. They must have learnt to trust her.

They went to another conference room. Carol closed the door behind them and sighed. “Natasha, you know what it’s about.”

“Tony.”

“Red Skull hit him with – a magic ray? I’ve no idea, Strange is unavailable, Wanda had never seen anything like it before. Deadpool got hit too and he’s now living as a monk, but with him it’s hard to say if it’s not just another crazy idea of his. Doom started a charity. Tony …”

“Went super-villain,” Peter ended.

“He moved to San Francisco,” Carol said quietly. “So did Daredevil. Matt called me. He was fighting some new villain – superpowered, completely inexperienced, went down easily. Scans showed Extremis.”

“And Tony has been selling it lately,” Natasha finished. “Clearly he doesn’t care about his clients’ reputation.”

“Daredevil tried to talk to him,” Carol said. “But I think we all saw on news how that went.”

“You need a bigger team, Carol,” Steve said. “Hyperion. Star Brand. Maybe –”

“Because that went so well for you last time, Steve,” Natasha cut in. “No. Carol’s right about this. We should be able to subdue him if need be, but we don’t want to fight him. Showing up with all the heavy hitters could make him defensive instantly, and that would make him aggressive.”

Steve didn’t like it. They didn’t know Tony like he did. There would be no talking with him. Tony, after all, always believed he knew best.

And … Extremis. So it was true. _Again_ , Steve thought, and remembered the last time Tony got the enhancile and went straight up insane. He remembered fighting him in the streets of the New York. He remembered _not_ bringing the shield down.

Maybe he should have done that.

“Okay,” Steve said. “I don’t share your optimism, Carol, but you’re giving orders here.”

“You can tell me ‘I told you so’ later,” she promised.

He hoped he wouldn’t have to.

***

The flight to San Francisco was quiet.

They knew they might end up fighting their once-fellow Avenger, and it weighed over them.

Steve was sure trying to _talk_ with Tony wouldn’t work, but he could try, if only to be able to say that he had later. But he had a lot of experience with trying to reason with Tony, and – it wasn’t going to end well.

But Tony had to be stopped.

Minutes before they reached the city, their communicator turned on, and a picture of Tony showed up on the screen. “The Avengers,” he said in a mocking tone. “Coming for a visit?”

“Tony,” Carol said. “I just want to talk.”

“’Talk’,” he repeated. “Sure.”

The Quinjet turned. Carol reached for the controls and moved them, but nothing happened.

“Don’t worry, Marvel,” Tony said. “I’ll land you safely.”

“Give me back the controls, Tony,” she ordered.

“Why? You said you wanted to talk, don’t you trust me?”

She was silent; then she nodded.

Steve knew she could carry him and Peter, if need be, and Jessica should be able to safely land with Natasha. They didn’t _need_ the Quinjet if Tony betrayed them now.

He breathed slowly, and waited as Tony steered the Quinjet with his mind.

They landed softly, on the rooftop of what had to be Tony’s building. The hatch opened on its own. They looked at each other, then Carol nodded. “Let’s go,” she said, and led them out.

Tony didn’t wait for them on the roof, but the door leading inside opened on its own. They went inside, and to the lift that also moved without them pressing any button.

“Does this creep anyone else out?” Peter asked uneasily.

Steve curled his hands into fists.

The lift stopped. They looked at each other for a moment, and then Carol nodded. They went out straight to a big living room. The wall was all windows, not unlike in the Avengers Tower.

But then, of course, Tony had designed both buildings.

Tony himself stood near the bar, a glass with some amber liquid in his hand, a fake smile plastered on his face. He had on casual clothes, but if he had Extremis, he didn’t need to be in the armour to be dangerous. He could call it quickly enough.

His eyes shone the unnatural blue Steve had seen on the pictures.

“Steve,” Tony drawled. “Not looking so well.”

“Stark,” Steve said. “Stop it.”

“Why, you aren’t here to beg for Extremis to fix you?” Tony shook his head. “You must feel … aimless. What’s the purpose of a Captain America who can’t even lift his shield?”

“Captain America is feeling just great,” Steve said through gritted teeth. He wouldn’t let Tony know his words hit where it hurt.

“Oh, Sam, of course.” Tony waved his hand. “Be honest, Steve. You never knew what to do with yourself outside of being Cap. It was sad to watch, really.”

“Tony,” Carol said. “Red Skull did something to you.”

Tony laughed. “Is that what you think?”

“I _know_ it,” she said.

“See yourself out,” he said, turning back.

“You can’t keep on doing that with Extremis,” she said. “Matt …”

“Matt is a blind man – quite literally – who can’t see the future. I expected more from you, Carol.”

Jessica stepped forward. “Let us talk,” she said.

Steve felt immediately calmer, hit by her pheromones, but Tony just laughed again. “Do you think that’ll work?”

“Tony,” Jessica said.

In the corner of Steve’s eye, Natasha straightened, ready for a fight.

In the next moment, Tony’s armour surrounded him. Steve wasn’t sure where it came from. From close up, it didn’t seem any more familiar. He wouldn’t guess it was Tony’s design if he didn’t know it.

Steve recognized all of them falling into battle stances, losing hope of reasoning with Tony as his friends. They had come here knowing they might have to fight, and now they were going to.

Spider-Man shot his webs at Iron Man, clearly trying to pin him down, and Iron Man dodged, moving quicker than Steve had ever seen him move before.

“Fuck,” Captain Marvel said, and blasted him. An energy field covered Iron Man, protecting him, and he fired repulsors at Black Widow, who was running at him, and Spider-Woman.

Spider-Woman didn’t manage to avoid all of the blast. She shouted as it hit her in the arm.

That was enough, Steve thought. He couldn’t fight, but he was reasonably sure he could end it. With Extremis, just disassembling Tony’s armour wouldn’t be enough, but …

“Code 02-82-58-96-66-25-87-22-46,” he said. “Steve Rogers. Deactivate.”

Iron Man stopped moving. Carol’s blast hit him in the arm, and he stumbled back. His armour dissolved.

Around them, Tony’s tech powered down.

Tony fell to his knees, his face screwed in pain, his hands going up to the RT node in his chest, and that’s when Steve understood.

He’d deactivated all of Tony’s tech within hearing distance.

_All of it._

The RT –

But Tony had Extremis now, surely he didn’t really need the node –

Tony was breathing frantically, gasping for air. He fell on his side on the floor, his hands still pressed against his chest.

“No,” Steve said, going to him.

Natasha was faster. She was on Tony in a second, her hand on his pulse point, and then she started compressing his chest.

It wouldn’t work, without the RT, his heartbeat wouldn’t be back, and –

Tony tried to move as if to push her away, but then his hand fell to the floor as he lost consciousness. Natasha swore.

Steve didn’t know what was happening around him, not really, his world narrowed down to Tony, and Natasha trying to resuscitate him, to the moment she shook her head seconds, minutes, hours later, punched the floor near her knee.

Tony’s eyes were still open, blue like before this newest Extremis, staring lifelessly at the ceiling.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thanks to [runningondreams](http://archiveofourown.org/users/runningondreams) for betaing :) (Also, I absolutely ignored her suggestion on where to end this part, so, sorry for that.)

Tony came to slowly.

He was lying on something hard and cold. The air smelt of incense. He didn’t feel any pain.

Where was he? And, more importantly, what happened?

Without opening his eyes, he concentrated. What did he remember … ?

Steve.

Steve, but for some reason old, and –

Steve, using his codes to deactivate Tony’s armour, all of his tech –

The RT.

Tony sat up, his hands going to his chest, frantically looking for the node.

It wasn’t there. His chest was smooth, but he was breathing, and he could feel his heart beating, how was it possible …

He took a few deep breaths, just to see if he really could, and looked around him.

He was naked, sitting on something that dangerously resembled a laboratory table. The room was dimly lit with candles. Part of the wall was covered in bookcases filled with old-looking grimoires. The rest looked like a modern lab.

Tony stepped down, to a cold floor paved with wide stones.

“I would expect at least a thank you,” Doom’s voice reached him.

Tony spun around. Doom stood in the doorway.

“What did you do?” he asked, though he knew the answer.

“Clearly lost some of your intellect while reviving you,” Doom said. “Ah, let’s hope you can still be useful. There’s clothing in the wardrobe, cover yourself. Then we can talk of the … price.”

“Price?” Tony repeated. “I didn’t sign any contract with you, Doom.”

“Perhaps,” Doom agreed. “But you will. After all, you saw sense, and the Avengers killed you for it. Don’t you want revenge?”

He saw sense?

Tony tried to understand what Doom meant, but …

Steve killed him. Steve had felt the need to use his final override codes. Tony didn’t know what he must have done to push him to that. He didn’t remember.

He remembered fighting Red Skull … And nothing afterwards, nothing but Steve reciting the codes in a cool, composed voice.

Tony realised he was shivering. To cover it, he went to get the clothes. Doom’s lab slash sorcerer lair was cold.

Steve hadn’t used his codes even when he’d barged into Tony’s lab, saying I remember, what more than that could have Tony done?

He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

And Doom’s words … It suggested he’d fought the Avengers, and that he’d done it willingly. It suggested Doom expected his help.

Tony decided to play along. It wasn’t as if he had a choice for now, anyway.

“So you want my unique insight,” he said, pulling on a pair of simple black trousers and shirt. “We could agree your, ah, reviving me is worth one favour.”

“Anthony, you seem to believe you wouldn’t want to help anyway,” Doom said.

Tony was very aware just how helpless he was right now, presumably in the middle of Latveria, without his armour. And he couldn’t risk building a suit here, even if Doom gave him the chance. Doom wasn’t an idiot, he might learn too much.

And Tony had to find out what he’d done. He was afraid he’d have to get back to New York in order to do it, and he wasn’t sure if he should be there without knowing all the circumstances.

He felt weakened, a bit hungry. He didn’t like showing weakness, but he could play it up, so that Doom would underestimate him later.

“Business can wait,” Tony said with a smile. “Death clearly isn’t the best state for me, Victor, but from you, I’d expect proper etiquette. Won’t you offer me dinner?”

***

The room or, more appropriately, the chamber that Doom’s servant led Tony to after the dinner was the same mix of medieval style and modern technology that was popular in Latveria. There was a big canopy bed, the drape, of course, dark green. Next to it, there was a door, probably leading to en-suite. Against the wall the main door was set in, there was a big, wooden table, a tablet on top of it.

Tony frowned.

Doom was clearly treating him as a guest, and they were going to discuss – business – but this was still … surprising. Proof of good will that Tony didn’t need, because it was Doom. Tony was never going to trust him, even if he had indeed gone temporarily crazy.

He couldn’t see any cameras, but he was sure there were some. There must be tracers on the tablet too, telling Doom exactly what Tony would do with it, and Tony was tempted to ignore the device, but … Well, he’d been dead. Insane or no, it would be only understandable he’d check what had happened during the time he’d been gone, right? And no one should be surprised at Tony Stark googling himself.

He wanted to talk to Reed and get scanned. He wanted to talk to Strange and make sure he was himself. He couldn’t have any of that, not yet, but he could at least read up on the latest events. How long had he been gone, anyway?

Tony sighed. He picked up the tablet.

Steve had killed him, which meant Tony had fucked up more than he’d thought possible. He knew he wouldn’t like what he was going to read. He took a deep breath, schooled his expression, and searched for himself.

He read.

Tony’s knuckles went white, the tablet screeching alarmingly under his hands, and he couldn’t even make a snide remark on the quality of Doom’s tech.

It’d been six months since his funeral, but this wasn’t important.

He carried a drink on all of his newest pictures. His eyes were electric blue, eerily so. Headlines screamed of Stark and Extremis tech.

That explained a lot. A whole fucking lot. What had he done while drunk this time? Set Extremis on San Francisco? Was this true? Had he really fought Matt? And what the hell had he done to force Steve to –

Tony should have stayed dead.

What did Doom want from him? Extremis? He had to know Tony didn’t have it anymore. Self-consciously, Tony rubbed at his chest where the RT had used to be. He had gotten used to it, and now he couldn’t get rid of the feeling something was wrong with him, that he needed the node in his chest, even though he was breathing freely and his heart beat in a steady rhythm.

He didn’t deserve to feel that good physically. He knew what Extremis could do, and even fixed, it was too dangerous to give it to anyone. What the hell had he been thinking? Was it – he remembered heroes made villains by Red Skull, but even if he had changed something in Tony, Tony should have known better, should have stopped himself.

And it’s not as if he needed the Skull’s influence to become a villain, anyway, he thought, remembering incursions.

He needed to get out of here, learn everything he’d done and fix it, but he didn’t have anything on him, and he was painfully aware that he’d have to work with Doom to get away – or at least pretend to, because he wasn’t going to actually help him with anything.

If Doom saw through this act, if he decided to kill him, then so be it.

***

Tony slept uneasily and woke completely unrested. That wasn’t anything new though, so he just forced himself to get up and fake it. He took a shower, put on the same clothes as yesterday. He wanted to do some more research, learn what was going on with the Avengers, but someone knocked before he even picked up the tablet and a servant let himself in. Tony thought it was the same man who had led him here last night – a young, maybe twenty-year old Latverian.

“Lord Doom demands your presence,” he said. “Sir.”

Tony thought back to what he had read on himself, to the man he was supposed to be, the man he hated, and put on his most arrogant smile. “And he can’t be bothered to get me himself?” He rolled his eyes. “The sooner we’re done, the better,” he said.

Another question surfaced in his mind.

As far as he could tell – and he was very aware it wasn’t much, if Doom had done something to him while bringing him back – he could think on his own. He didn’t feel like he was mind-controlled. Hadn’t Doom even tried to bend him to his will? Did he try and fail? Did he believe, like some, that if you needed someone’s intellect, you couldn’t mind-control them, you had to get them working for you? The little Tony got from discussions with Emma told him it was mostly true, but … There were too many questions and variables, and Tony hated not knowing everything.

He was led through cold corridors to reinforced doors. There were signs drawn on them, like glyphs.

Another thing Tony hated right here: magic. It meant even more questions he could not answer, and the most important of them: just how had Doom resurrected him?

He shook himself mentally. There’d be time to think about it later. Now …

“Hello, Victor,” Tony said when the door opened.

Doom didn’t look at him. “Stark. Can we get to work?”

“You still haven’t told me what we’re doing,” Tony said, stepping in the lab.

Doom huffed. “I do not share your dreams of updating humanity.” He turned to Tony. “Subjects should know their place.”

Tony forced himself to laugh. “Do you mean Extremis? It didn’t change my superiority.”

Doom waved his hands. “The mere idea behind it is ridiculous,” he said. “No. What I want from you is a power source.”

Of course.

That was the main problem with the Doombots. Running on conventional energy, they’d never get close to Iron Man’s effectiveness.

Tony could do that. He could build anything for Doom. That was easy.

Too easy.

“So you want me to build batteries,” he said aloud.

“I am perfectly capable of building them on my own,” Doom said. “I merely need plans.”

Tony shook his head. “No,” he said. “You will not get my blueprints. If you want RT power packs, you need me.” He hesitated. He had to force the next words through his throat. “And I’ll build them, if you use them to take out the Avengers first.”

“Revenge, Stark?”

Tony shrugged. “What can I say? I don’t like people stopping my plans.”

Doom nodded. “Very well then. I’ll allow for it now. We’ll talk again when the tests prove successful.”

“Who do you take me for?” Tony asked. “Of course they will.”

***

Tony very carefully never looked for information on Doom or anything close to him, but through the glimpses in other articles, he managed to gather enough knowledge to be able to guess what had happened.

It would’ve been hilarious, in any other circumstances, but it seemed like when Red Skull had taken a stroll through superhumans’ minds, he’d managed to make some villains see the light.

Victor von Doom had turned good, and had destroyed his army of Doombots.

(A waste and lack of planning, Tony thought: everything could be used for good, with some planning … But then, he’d destroyed his weapons too.)

It would really have been funny, if the articles he found the information in didn’t also speak of Tony, going insane in San Francisco, selling Extremis like he’d used to sell weapons, and this time never caring who he sold it to. Of Tony, drunk at parties.

What he’d done with Extremis, he’d done in broad daylight. What might he have tried in the privacy of his lab, after a drink or five?

Tony didn’t want to think of that, so he focused on work, building power packs for an army of Doombots, adding safety measures and locks, slightly different each time, so Doom wouldn’t be able to tell.

The first rule of creating weapons: don’t build something that could kill you if turned against you. Always have a way out. Always have a deactivation code.

Days passed, and Tony built for Doom, and told himself he didn’t hate himself.

He never tried to check up on Avengers again. He was too afraid of what he might find. He’d have to look eventually, he knew, before Doom’s field test in New York – and Tony could only hope he’d manage to switch the bots off quickly enough. Before they hurt anyone.

The last day, he built something else. A transmitter, set to the Avengers frequency, small and stealthy enough Tony hoped Doom wouldn’t find it on him. And if he did … Maybe “I wanted a battery of my own” would save Tony’s life.

Probably not.

***

Doom looked at his new Doombots.

“And you’re saying they can take more damage now, Stark,” he said.

“Check for yourself,” Tony shrugged. He didn’t have to try very hard to seem sure of himself. It was true they were the best Doombots ever. They just … wouldn’t last.

“Very well,” Doom said. “You can go.”

Tony wasn’t surprised. Doom had been testing them as Tony worked on the RT power sources, and of course he was going to put them through everything himself now. He seemed rather pleased at the prospect of mindlessly destroying New York, all things considered. Maybe he had a lot of anger to spend, after his stint as a good man.

***

Doom would set out tomorrow. Tony had demanded a front row seats to see the Avengers fight with him, so he was going to leave with Doom. He was very aware Doom would have eyes on him all the time. Probably a few pairs of them, through his bots.

Tony wasn’t afraid of that. He was afraid of what he was going to do first, though.

He typed, slowly, very slowly, Avengers, and hit enter, told himself not to be a coward and to actually look at the results.

Carol led them. Sam was still Captain America. War Machine was on the team.

Steve Rogers wasn’t.

Tony took a steadying breath and googled him too.

The Steve Tony remembered killing him had been old. Steve in the most recent pictures was young again. He was wearing a black bodysuit – and Tony really hoped it was stronger than it looked – and wasn’t using an alias. Tony wondered what had happened to him, but of course, public records wouldn’t show him that.

And Doom would think he was looking at these pages to better prepare for his revenge.

Revenge couldn’t be further from his mind though. When Tony returned ho – no, he didn’t have a home anymore. But when he returned to the US, he could start making amends instead.

***

Doom was opening a portal leading to New York.

Tony suspected it wasn’t his usual method. He very much doubted Doom would let him see that. Tony stood to the side, watching him work, though listening to words in probably inhuman languages made his head hurt. He really did hate magic.

Doom waved his hands, his cloak floating behind him in the artificial wind generated by whatever it was he was doing. Electricity crackled in the air, and an outline of a door appeared in front of him. He made a movement like pulling it open, and then Tony could see New York’s skyline.

He told himself to remain calm. Just a few minutes more, and he could use his codes, he could stop Doom, and then he could apologise to his friends, if they let him.

“Follow me,” Doom said, and went through the portal. Tony didn’t have much choice, and he went after him.

On the other side, the portal led to the rooftop of some building. When Tony passed through, Doom waved his hand. The portal disappeared from behind them, but then air in front of the building flickered.

Doombots started coming through.

Tony stretched his arms, forcing himself to smile. A few more minutes.

Doom still seemed to be concentrating on the portal, so Tony put his arms down to his sides, pressed at the button of the transmitter hidden in his trousers pocket. He didn’t quite dare reach into the pocket.

Carol and War Machine showed up when the last Doombots were coming through. The Wasp was next, and she must have noticed Tony, standing near Doom, because for a moment she looked straight at him, hurt and disappointed both. Tony glanced at the portal. Still a few Doombots to go. He couldn’t reassure her yet.

The last of them went through, and Tony breathed.

“04-07,” he said. He could see Jan flying in his direction.

Doom looked at him. “I wish I could say I was surprised,” he said.

“19,” Tony continued, and Doom raised his hand.

Pain erupted in Tony’s chest, and he didn’t remember anything else.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to [runningondreams](http://archiveofourown.org/users/runningondreams) for beta'ing again :)

Tony woke up. His mind was foggy in the way he connected with strong painkillers. There was the unmistakable sound of a heart monitor in the background.

He hated hospitals.

He slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he noticed was an armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agent standing at the door. The second was Carol, sitting at his bedside.

He didn’t know what to say, but it turned out he didn’t have to say anything. She noticed he was awake, and was biting at her lip.

“Tony,” she said, like a question.

“Yeah,” he said.

“How are you feeling?”

“Just fine,” he lied.

She shook her head. “I should know better than to ask,” she said sadly. There was something strange in her eyes as she looked at him, hopeful and wary both. Tony wanted to look away, but forced himself not to.

“Doom?” he asked.

“I was hoping you’d tell me that.”

“He said he’d resurrected me,” Tony offered after a while of silence.

Carol glanced at the agent. “Leave,” she said.

“I have orders, Captain.”

“Leave,” she repeated. “This is an order.” Her eyes were glowing with raw power, and the agent hurriedly obeyed.

“Scary,” Tony commented.

She sighed. “You were with him,” she said.

“Yes,” he said.

“You – Jan warned us on the comms.”

“I saw her,” Tony said in the same monotonous voice.

“Yeah. She said – she said she heard you reciting a code, just before Doom … attacked you.”

There was something she wasn’t saying there.

“Yes,” Tony said again anyway.

“Steve’s birthday,” Carol said. Tony nodded. “She finished it for you,” she said. “To be perfectly honest, I don’t know if I would do it in her place. But she wanted to believe in you, and it seems she was right to.”

Tony did close his eyes at that. No one should believe in him. Not after what he’d done in San Francisco –

He gasped. Images flooded his mind. The taste of alcohol was strong on his tongue. Parties. Countless women. Extremis. Selling it to whomever paid the most. Selling it to villains. Fighting Daredevil.

The Avengers, coming to stop him.

Steve.

_God_.

Someone was saying his name. Tony focused on that, the steady sound, _Tony, Tony, Tony_ , and opened his eyes to see Carol looking at him worriedly.

“I’m fine,” he said before she could ask.

_I’ll update humanity, richest first (and only)._

No wonder Doom had thought he’d help him.

“What happened?” he asked finally.

“Jan finished the code and the Doombots exploded. Doom wanted to grab you before teleporting back, but she didn’t let him.”

That wasn’t the whole story. “He did something to me,” Tony said.

“He stopped your heart,” she said. “Uh. For good, let’s say.”

He didn’t understand. He put his hand to his chest, but there wasn’t a sign of a new RT node there.

“Stephen looked you over,” Carol continued. “You won’t like that bit.”

“More magic,” Tony sighed. He wondered if that was why he’d just remembered everything.

She nodded. “You have a pacemaker. Except, well, not a technological one. Doom’s spell would kill those, and Stephen was afraid breaking the spell might do physical damage to your heart.”

Tony groaned. “Let me repeat that. I have a _magical_ pacemaker in my chest.”

“Hey,” she said, and she finally sounded like herself. “I warned you you wouldn’t like it.”

He shouldn’t be surprised. His heart was _always_ a problem. It’d only been a matter of time before something happened to it anyway, and that it was so quick, well. He really shouldn’t be surprised. “Anything else?” he asked, quietly. Back in Latveria, he had wanted to consult with Strange and Reed, so he should be happy, really.

“Well, you’re you, apparently. The real you.” She looked at the door. “S.H.I.E.L.D. didn’t believe Strange, of course. Last time …”

“I remember,” he interrupted sharply.

Matt confronting him and Tony laughing in his face. Offering him Extremis to cure him, only to add he couldn’t afford it anyway. Laughing when asked if AIM could afford it then.

Tony didn’t want to remember. Why did he?

And … “What about Steve?” he asked.

“He was here,” Carol said.

Tony laughed painfully. “To finish –”

“You idiot,” she cut in. “Do you know – after he – after you … God, Tony, I took him with us. It’s my fault. I’m so sorry.” She looked at her hands.

It was wrong. She had nothing to apologise for. “I was a villain,” he said, not exactly sure if he shouldn’t use present tense.

“You were brainwashed.”

“By Skull?” Tony asked. “He gave me a push, maybe. But what I’d done before that – this is all on me.”

Her shoulders were shaking, but her voice seemed steady, if quiet. “I’m so happy you’re alive, you can’t imagine,” she said. “You can’t imagine how relieved _Steve_ is. Stop making it all your fault. We should have helped you, and we killed you.”

He tried to sit up and hug her, but he was to weak to get up. Instead, he reached out his hand, managed to touch her arm.

She was wrong, of course she was, but he wanted to comfort her, not to hurt her.

***

Tony didn’t want to go back to Avengers Tower. He couldn’t quite look anyone in the eyes, and he wasn’t on the team. He was aware Carol believed he wanted to avoid them, but it wasn’t true. He just was a coward.

He accepted Rhodey’s offer of staying at his place though. Rhodey himself spent more time in the Tower with Carol now anyway, and he’d said Tony would have the place mostly to himself. Getting back alive legally was a pain in the ass, and even though Pepper made Resilient lawyers work on it, Tony still didn’t have access to much more than but a phone with a pre-paid card.

He sat in Rhodey’s living room now, Rhodey and Pepper across from him.

“You left most of your money to me and Maria Stark Foundation in your will,” Pepper said. “We’re going to have a talk about this later, too, but for now – I am going to transfer it back to you.”

Tony shook his head. “No,” he said.

He remembered how he’d earned most of it, on Extremis, and he didn’t want anything to do with it. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d started from scratch.

“ _Yes_ ,” she said. “I know what you’re thinking, Tony. But you’re also thinking you have to fix it, and I’m not arguing with you there. Spending the Extremis money on helping the victims seems like the best option to me.”

No. The best option would be for him to start a new company, helping people, and use it to make his amends. She had a point, though. And maybe she didn’t want that money either. That decided it for him, really, and he nodded, albeit unwillingly.

“You can stay here as long as you want, Tones,” Rhodey said. “But Carol means it when she says you should come back to the team.”

Tony shook his head again. “I don’t even have an armour,” he said.

Rhodey laughed. “Yeah. And how long will that last?”

Tony smiled at that, because Rhodey was right. He never could live without his suit for too long. Iron Man was too important for him. He couldn’t give up on it, not even when he should.

Rhodey grew serious. “You should also talk to Steve.” Tony tensed, but Rhodey went on. “You didn’t – well, of course you didn’t see him at your funeral.” He stopped, took a deep breath, looked at Tony as if to make sure he was there.

It was wrong. He acted as if he missed Tony, and no one should have – Tony had been a monster. They should have been grateful he’d been gone.

Rhodey shook himself. “Talk to him. He was in the hospital a lot when you were unconscious. I think he’s feeling too guilty to come to you now. We all want him on the team too, but he keeps refusing.”

That was wrong too. Steve had helped them all by taking Tony out. He shouldn’t blame himself.

Tony remembered all too well what he’d said, when Steve had come with the Avengers to San Francisco. It had been untrue and hurtful, and Tony couldn’t be more disgusted with himself.

“I’ll talk to him,” Tony lied.

Pepper came to him and hugged him tight. He stiffened in her arms. “You should listen to Rhodey,” she whispered in his ear before letting go. She straightened. “I’m going back to Resilient. Call me if you need anything, do you hear me?”

He nodded.

Rhodey looked at him. “Want me to stay with you tonight, or –”

“Am I even allowed to be alone?”

Rhodey made a face. “Carol talked it out with Maria. Yes.”

More like “yelled”, Tony thought.

“I’ll be good then,” he said.

“I’ll come by tomorrow,” Rhodey promised.

“Thanks,” Tony said.

When Rhodey left, Tony made himself a coffee and stayed in the kitchen, staring at it for a long time.

For the first time in weeks, he was truly alone, without anyone watching his every move.

It was a weird feeling.

***

Someone knocked at the door an hour later, and Tony opened it to see Jan, a few assistants following her, carrying boxes. Before Tony could react, she ordered them around, and in what seemed like just a few seconds later they were left alone.

“Your new clothes, Tony,” she announced.

He blinked.

“You were gone,” she said. “You don’t have anything. You need new clothes.”

“You didn’t have to,” he said.

She shrugged. “I like designing for my friends,” she said. “And, Tony – I saw you with Doom, and …”

“And you saved me, as I heard,” he said, stepping closer to her, not wanting to hear another unnecessary apology. “Thank you.” He hugged her, and for a long moment she kept her arms tight around him.

“I missed you,” she admitted.

He closed his eyes.

They should all stop saying that.

“You do realise this is Rhodey’s flat, right?” he asked finally, gesturing around them at the boxes.

“And he’s here so often,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Keep the clothes.”

He nodded, because he knew how discussions with Jan went: there was no chance of her not getting what she wanted. She was scary like that at times.

She stayed for some time, drinking coffee with him, all the time looking at him as if she was surprised to see him there.

It was nice, a bit weird, and when she left in the evening, he discovered he was tired, tired enough that he really wanted to sleep.

He lay down, and slept through the whole night.

***

Tony showed up at the Baxter Building’s door himself. Reed wasn’t someone who’d come to visit him on his own, and Tony was a bit grateful for that. He got to decide when to talk with him, this way, and he _had_ to talk with him eventually.

He let HERBIE scan him, and the robot stopped, light engulfing Tony, no confirmation of recognition there.

Tony sighed. Clearly he was still marked as dead.

It wasn’t long before the elevator in the lobby opened, Reed walking out of it hurriedly, still in his lab coat.

“Tony,” he smiled. “It’s great to see you,” he said.

Tony ran his hand through his hair. “Good enough to help me with my armour?” he asked.

Reed’s smile didn’t dim a bit at the request. “A pleasure.”

“And then we can talk Doom, too,” Tony said quietly, because he didn’t expect Doom to let the betrayal go, and Reed knew that particular villain better than anyone.

Reed nodded before ordering HERBIE to accept Tony and re-establish his access codes. He didn’t ask questions. He didn’t act guilty. He was just there, a friend. It was nice.

***

Tony didn’t mean to put his armour on for a fight so quickly, but when the Serpent Society attacked, he didn’t think twice about it.

Steve was on the battlefield, too, using the holoshield Tony had built for him ages ago.

They didn’t talk, but they fought back to back, as well as ever.

When it was over, Tony sat down, even in his armour feeling exhausted. Something wasn’t right. He shouldn’t be that tired, he used to fight more than this without breaking a sweat –

Was it the lack of the RT? It had enhanced his body … He shook his head. He’d think of it later. He wanted to sleep now, and he was mildly worried by it.

Then Steve looked at him. “Tony …” he said.

Tony steeled himself, and opened his faceplate. He owed Steve that much. “I’m sorry,” he said.

Steve stared at him, but after a second, there was just worry on his face. “You’re bleeding,” he said.

He wasn’t, Tony thought, but then he felt something. He frowned, took off his gauntlet, touched his hand over his mouth and looked at it.

Blood.

And he was so tired.

“You’re getting checked out,” Steve said, not allowing for any discussion, like he’d used to say so often, like nothing had changed, and what could Tony say to that?

He went.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is it. I promised a happy ending.
> 
> Thanks to [runningondreams](http://archiveofourown.org/users/runningondreams) for beta!

Steve went with Tony, watching over him as if he didn’t trust him to go to a doctor without someone making sure of it. He didn’t speak a word, and Tony didn’t, either. He didn’t know what to say anyway, and he didn’t have much energy to think.

“Strange was taking care of you,” Steve said suddenly, while an EMT was flashing a penlight in Tony’s eye.

Tony didn’t ask how he knew that. There was something weird, a bit lost, in the way Steve spoke the name. Tony nodded, annoying the EMT who told him to keep still.

“Maybe you should go to him,” Steve said.

It shouldn’t be like this, Steve shouldn’t be standing over Tony, clearly worried, he shouldn’t offer suggestions that clearly hurt him.

Tony knew from Reed Steve hadn’t talked to any of the Illuminati. Why was he here, with Tony?

“You aren’t concussed,” the EMT said, and Tony rolled his eyes. He knew that much.

“Go to Strange,” Steve told him, his jaw set.

Years ago, seeing that expression on Steve’s face, Tony would have been sure he had two choices: to go, or to have Steve make him.

Now … Now he didn’t know. And there was something in the way Steve looked at him, pained but worried, that made Tony not to want to check if he would try to force him, or if he would just walk away.

“Okay,” Tony said.

“Now,” Steve said.

“Okay,” Tony repeated.

Steve _smiled_.

It shouldn’t be like this, Tony thought again. He didn’t deserve it.

***

Tony tried to tell himself he wasn’t happy Steve went with him as he knocked on the door to Sanctum Sanctorum. He didn’t know why Steve stayed, but even in silence, it was good to be next to him. Tony felt exhausted, ready to fall asleep standing. It was just his armour that wouldn’t let him fall … A weird certainty that without it, Steve would catch him before he hit the ground.

Wong looked at him, surprised, and then at Steve, distrustfully. Tony wanted to explain, but he didn’t know what to say.

“He needs a doctor,” Steve said in his place.

Wong raised his eyebrows, but he let them in and led them to a living room.

They were silent again, waiting for Strange, but somehow it didn’t feel awkward.

Strange showed up short time later. He looked at Steve, clearly surprised, and then focused on Tony.

“You’re ill,” he said.

Tony tried to shrug. “I hoped you’d fix it.”

“Take off your armour and come with me,” Strange ordered. He hesitated. “Captain …”

“I’ll stay with Tony,” he said, and the lack of trust was evident in his voice. Clearly he hadn’t yet forgiven Strange for wiping his mind – and why would he? But seeing how Steve acted towards Strange, Tony wasn’t sure why Steve also acted worried about him. He’d given the order. He was the one to blame.

“It’s Tony’s decision to make,” Strange said.

Tony gave the armour the command to open and assemble in the suitcase. He was left in the underarmour, and he shivered against himself.

“Let him stay,” he said, because he didn’t want to know what Steve would do otherwise.He really shouldn’t be worrying about Tony.

Strange just nodded and led them to a room downstairs. It was almost empty, not counting the cabinets at the walls.

Tony had a sudden feeling Strange wouldn’t use the scientific part of his knowledge now, and sure enough, moments later he took out a piece of chalk and started drawing a magic circle.

Tony sighed. He leant on the wall to stay upright.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Strange told him to lay down in the middle of the circle, but he just nodded and complied.

“You may sleep,” Strange said, and Tony was out.

***

Tony woke up rested.

For a moment he wasn’t sure where he was. The place was familiar, too familiar, but it wasn’t where he was supposed to be –

Ah. The Tower. His room.

He was alone. He stared at the ceiling for a long while, thinking what he should do. Eventually, he decided he needed some answers, and got up. There were still some clothes that fit him in the wardrobes. He took a shower and put on a business suit, because some of his armours weren’t literal.

He looked at himself in the mirror for a long time, but he couldn’t see any change.

He went to the kitchen, and tried not to feel like he was home.

Carol and Rhodey were there, eating breakfast together. Carol saw him first and beamed. “You’re up,” she said.

“Tones?” Rhodey turned to him and smiled too. “How’re you feeling?”

“Depends,” Tony said. “I remember being at Strange’s. What happened?”

“Stephen apologised,” Carol said. Tony snorted, but she continued anyway. “Apparently the pacemaker was draining your life force. He fixed it.”

“I. Hate. Magic.”

“He’s all right,” Rhodey commented.

“He’d be repeating that with his dying breath,” Carol said, and then blanched. “Forget I said that.”

“Hey,” Tony said. “I’m all right. I’m fine. I just need a cup of coffee.”

“See?” Rhodey said. “Perfectly fine.”

Tony didn’t deserve friends like these. He told himself he was going to leave as soon as he drank his coffee. It wasn’t his home anymore, and that was his own fault.

He didn’t know how to explain to himself why he stayed.

***

There was one thing he still needed to do, Tony knew.

He steeled himself and took a cab to Brooklyn, told it to stop several hundred metres before the address he’d given at first, and walked rest of the way to Steve’s flat.

He rang at the door and hoped Steve wouldn’t be home, but moments later, Steve opened his door and looked at Tony in silence.

“Hey,” Tony said.

“You’re all right,” Steve said.

“I am,” Tony said. “We need to talk.”

Steve nodded and let him inside. He started preparing coffee first, and Tony leant against the wall and thought of what to say.

“I’m sorry,” Steve said first.

So that was how it was going to be, Tony thought.

“No,” he said. “There’s nothing you have to apologise for.”

Steve turned to him, the jar of instant coffee still in his hand. “I killed you,” he said very calmly.

“You stopped me,” Tony corrected him. “And I needed to be stopped.”

“You needed to be _helped_ ,” Steve said. “Red Skull –”

“Red Skull didn’t sell Extremis to June Covington,” Tony interrupted him. “Red Skull didn’t break Matt’s arm. Red Skull didn’t attack Spider-Woman.”

“He made you do it,” Steve said. “It wasn’t you. You’re – you’re not a monster, and I killed you, and –” His hands were shaking.

Tony took a step from the wall. “Is that what you think?” he asked. “Do I need to remind you of _when_ the Skull hit me? Extremis is my fault, but you don’t have to blame me for it if you don’t want to. You have plenty other things to choose from. It wasn’t Skull’s spell that made me agree to wipe your mind.”

Steve closed his hand over the jar so hard it cracked.

“It wasn’t Skull’s spell that made me lie to you for a year,” Tony continued, because he couldn’t stop now. “It wasn’t Skull’s spell that made me use you. It was just me, Steve.”

Steve’s hands fell to his sides, the jar shattering on the floor.

“So you should really ask yourself,” Tony said, “how you can say I’m not a monster. Because that was all me. And I didn’t change my mind,” he added. “I would do it all again.”

“Get out,” Steve said, and he sounded unsteady.

Tony wanted to laugh. “Yeah,” he said. “Going. Don’t hope, Steve. I’m not a good man.”

“Get out,” Steve repeated, and Tony left.

He felt empty.

***

He stayed at Rhodey’s place again and didn’t answer any calls. He worked on finding a way to reverse Extremis’ effects, to erase its enhancements, to shut down all versions of the enhancile. It would have been easier with Maya, but he couldn’t bring back the dead.

Someone had been ringing at his door for a better part of an hour when Tony finally broke and answered it.

Steve forced his way inside before Tony could react. “Damn you,” he said, sounding so angry Tony expected another well-earned punch. “Damn you,” Steve repeated. “Stop trying to make me hate you. _I killed you_. I’ll never forgive myself.”

“You were doing the world a favour,” Tony said.

“You are a good man!” Steve roared. “Stop pretending otherwise, for god’s sake, _Tony_.”

“You mean the world to me,” Tony admitted, because he doubted that was ever a secret in the first place. “But I still betrayed you when it suited me.”

Steve took a deep breath and then he shook his head. “No.”

“No?” Tony repeated, lost.

“It didn’t _suit_ you,” Steve said. “You wouldn’t feel that guilty if you were the kind of man to do something like this because it _suits_ you,” he said. “And you are feeling guilty, Tony. All the things you’re doing to push me away.”

“I’m just telling the truth,” Tony said quietly.

He couldn’t let Steve in again. He’d only end up hurting him more.

“No,” Steve said again. “You’re trying to punish yourself. And, Tony, I would understand if you didn’t want to see me. You have all the reasons to. But look me in the eyes and tell me that it’s because of what I’ve done to you.”

Tony didn’t want to lie to him.

“I killed you,” Steve said again. “I’ll never be able to atone for that.”

“I let you do it,” Tony reminded him. “I gave you the codes. I always knew how they worked.”

“You –” Steve stopped himself, but Tony could see how his temper had flared for a second. “You trusted me with this,” Steve said. “Why don’t trust me with _building something better_?”

“I don’t deserve it,” Tony whispered.

Everything he’d done – to stop the incursions, and later, insane with the power of Extremis … He needed to fix it. He shouldn’t have anything else.

“Neither do I,” Steve said. “I should be in prison, but they wouldn’t –” He stopped himself. “Can we start again?”

“How?” Tony laughed, painfully.

“I don’t know,” Steve admitted.

“Me neither, and I’m a futurist,” Tony said.

“Not a clairvoyant,” Steve noticed.

Tony laughed. “Yes, well. That’s magic. I’ve had enough of that to last me a lifetime. Two even.”

“And me?” Steve asked.

“I’d do it all again,” Tony whispered, treating the words like an armour.

Steve exhaled. “So would I. Not – not what happened in San Francisco, of course. But knowing how it went, I still wouldn’t have agreed with you back in Wakanda.”

“And how’s that important?” Tony asked. “You didn’t betray me.”

“But I didn’t trust you,” Steve reminded him.

“And rightfully so,” Tony said.

“No.” Steve shook his head. “I should have listened to you. I – you’re right. I don’t know if I’ll be able to trust you again now. But before you deleted my memories …” Steve trailed off. There was a small smile on his face. “I want to try again.”

“You’re insane,” Tony said.

“Maybe,” Steve agreed. “But – I got to live without you. I never want to do that again. Let’s start again.”

Tony didn’t remember the time Steve had been dead. He was never sure why he’d decided to delete all of his memories like that, but looking at Steve now … Maybe he knew.

“Okay,” he said. “Okay.”

He shouldn’t agree, but he wanted to, and, well, he’d always known he was selfish.

Steve’s smile was worth it.

***

It was a year later when Tony and Steve re-joined the Avengers.

Villains enhanced by Extremis still showed up occasionally. Steve sometimes looked at Tony like he was surprised to see him there, his eyes full of guilt.

But they were dealing with it together, and this was important.

They stood on the top floor balcony. The other Avengers were inside, but Steve had left, and Tony had gone after him.

“I felt a bit crowded,” Steve said.

“Second thoughts?”

“No. It’s home.”

Tony nodded. “It is,” he agreed. He didn’t deserve it. He never would. But it was good to be back there.

“So, futurist,” Steve said. “If I asked you a year ago …”

“Shut up,” Tony said, laughing.

It was windy this high up, but it didn’t bother Tony, even as it played with his tie. He felt good. In the right place.

Steve looked at him, smiling, and Tony smiled back. He’d never thought he’d have this again. Steve took a step toward Tony, another. Tony didn’t move. Steve leant in, and it was impossible, he couldn’t –

He kissed Tony, slowly, once.

Tony stared at him with wide eyes. “I never planned for this either,” he said, panicking. Steve couldn’t have known – couldn’t have done that – couldn’t have –

“As I said,” Steve said. “Not a clairvoyant.”

“But –”

“You promised me a new beginning then,” Steve said quietly, looking at Tony intently. “How about another one?”

Tony couldn’t speak. He just kissed him as the answer.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Temporary character death, Tony Stark.


End file.
